My day off....

Hi Everyone!  I hope your week is going well.  Today was my day off and I didn't get quite as much done as I thought I would.  I did get the mowing completed but I didn't get the trimming done.  There's a lot of trimming to do here on the farm. 

 I worked on the order I got for the trio of paintings.  

I worked on a set of signs for a client.  

I picked up some lumber for the bench I'm working on for one of my co-workers.  I did the fun stuff like laundry and cleaning.  And I went to my parents home and mowed the yard for my them.  So I don't have a finished project to share with you.  I have a couple of finds to share instead.

 I drove by the building that has an ongoing garage sale.  And this frame caught my eye.  I turned around and picked it up for $3.  

It has this little plague on it that says Snow Bound  by Marion Gray Traver.  It's a great size for one of my wire and clip message centers.

 When I got home from mowing at my parents home, I got a phone call from my Uncle Bill.  He was letting me know he had been here and dropped off another Jenny Lind crib.

And three rails.  I only got pictures of two of them because I had already put one away when I remembered to get my camera out.  He rescued them from going to the landfill.  So they were free for me.  Have I said recently that I love free stuff?  Well I do!  Thanks Uncle Bill!  Now I need to get working on these orders so that I can get them completed, shipped, and have something to share with you.  Thanks for stopping by.

Numbered peg rack...

Hi Everyone!  I hope your week is off to a great start.  I am going to have a busy day today.  I'm trying to get caught up on several orders today so I will be out in the shop or at the painting table.  I have a bench for one of my co-workers to finish today.  I have three paintings to work on for a client and two signs to finish for another client.  I also have to check my inventory of headboards and photograph them so a client can decide which one she would like.  I also need to mow my yard.  It's a good thing that today is my day off.

I never know exactly what to call this thing.  I've been calling it a numbered peg rack.  Any ideas on another name for it? 

I took this to the Arbor Day craft fair.

And I came home with it too.

The pegs are from the spindles of a Jenny Lind headboard that someone had left out in the weather and my aunt Barb rescued. 

I attached the pegs with glue and screws to a portion of wood that I removed from a headboard.  I painted it black and added numbers with white vinyl.  Normally I would have painted the numbers on but I was running out of time.

I think I might remove the vinyl and hand paint the numbers on.  I'll add it to my inventory of things for the next fair.  Now I need to get out to the shop.  Thanks for stopping by!

Gift for my mom...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you all had an enjoyable Mother's Day.  I did some work out in the shop today and then I went to my parents to spend some time with my mom.  The first thing I did for my mom was to buy and plant flowers in her raised brick flower bed.

 They will look much better when they adjust to being there and grow a bit.  But it's a nice start.

At this point, Mom thought this was her gift.  But I had to borrow the pick-up truck and head back to the farm for the second part of her gift.

 This is what I made for her for in front of their house.  It is made entirely out of reclaimed/recycled cedar.  I didn't spend a penny on this.  The reclaimed cedar was in the barn (thank you Grandpa for saving it) and my brother moved it to my wood shop (the old wooden corn crib) about 6 years ago.  I've used some of it to build my sister-in-laws bench but I've been saving all of it for something really special.  I decided to use it for my mom since it was from the farm that my mom grew up on.

 I added the birdhouses to the end posts since my mom loves birdhouses.  The back looks like an old picket fence, but it wasn't.  I got the cedar boards from my aunt and cut them down to make this. 

 The seat is made thick and solid.  It's an actual 2" x 13" piece of board.  They don't cut them like that anymore.

 The birdhouses are removable so they can be painted a different color then the bench easily.  I didn't drill the hole completely through either since my mom doesn't want a bird to try to move in.  It's just indented so she has a place to glue the nesting to.

And here it is out in front of my parents home.  I gave it to her unfinished because I didn't know how she would want to finish it.  I didn't know if she'd want to stain it or paint it or what color.  I think she's going to paint it to match the front door.  And then paint the birdhouses a different color.  So I'll have to wait to show you the finished product.  And I can't wait to she how she finishes it.  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
Catch-as-catch-can-74 @ MyRepurposedLife

Happy Mother's Day....

Hi Everyone!  Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful Mom's out there...and especially to my mother!  

 I picked up these roses yesterday at Wal-Mart.  Aren't they pretty?  But they aren't for my mom.

My mother is a wonderful Mom.  I'm so blessed that my parents decided to adopt me.  Thanks for always being there for me and our family.  I will share with you later the gift I'm giving my mom...but she's not getting it until early evening and I don't want her to see it here first.  But I thought I'd share a picture of my mom with you.

This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom.  (She's probably going to hate me for sharing this.)  This was taken on one of their trips to Florida.  I always thought the expression was because of the cool water, but as it turns out, she is shrieking because my dad caught her with more shells.  They decided that they had picked up enough shells and in her bag, she has more shells.  Happy Mother's Day Mom!  Now I'm off to the shop to work on some orders.  Thanks for stopping by.

Twin headboard bench...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are enjoying a wonderful weekend.  When I get done working today, I plan on being out in the shop working on a bench for one of the guys I work with and getting started on making some wooden canvas'.  I love being busy.  Today I thought I would show you the twin bench I made for the Arbor Craft Fair that I attended last month. 

I love how this one turned out.  Here it is at the craft fair, waiting to go home with someone.  I decided to branch out of my normal benches and used a different color on the bench and different fabric.  I know it's difficult to tell because the seat is covered in plastic (to keep it clean) but it's black and cream and a very pretty green.

Here's what I started out with.  A bed set that my uncle Bill gave me.  In fact he gave me two sets...which is good because the style was very popular.  I started out by cutting out the center spindle on the footboard since it was in the way when I went to cut it in half.

I found the center of the footboard and drew a line across it.

I carefully cut the footboard apart on my miter saw, turning it around to cut both the top and bottom boards.

Then I built a frame and secured the footboard to the headboard using glue and screws.  And that's when I forgot to pick up the camera again.  I primed it and painted it almond.  I cut the seat out of plywood and upholstered it in my new favorite fabric.

I took it to the fair and got a lot of wonderful comments on it.  So many people looking at it and inquiring about it and taking my business card.  But it didn't sell on Saturday which actually surprised me.  But on Sunday, not more than 10 minutes after arriving, the gal that was running the show came up to me, very serious like and said, "Holly, I need to talk to you."  I thought she was going to tell me something bad or that I did something I shouldn't have....but instead she said, "I want that bench."  I almost starting laughing because she was so serious.  So I put a sold sign on it and she went to write me a check.  I headed to the truck to bring in a few more pieces including the ladder basket.  Which she also bought. 

One last look at the almond bench.  I can't wait to use it's twin to build a bench.  Isn't it sweet.  I know it went to a wonderful home.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a nice Mother's Day.  I can't wait to give my mom her gift.  I'll share it with you tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by.

Barn sash window cupboard...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are all ready for a great weekend.  I plan on being out in the shop as much as possible because I have orders to fill!  YEAH!  And since it's Mother's Day on Sunday, I plan on spending some time with my mom.  I promised you a couple of days ago that I would share this little cupboard with you. 

Here's a little closer look at it at the craft fair.

I took this to the craft fair a few weeks ago but brought it home with me.  And I'm not sad that I did because I love it!  I don't think anyone really realized it was for sale since it had the soap dispensers in it.

I started with this.  It's a barn sash window that I shared with you a few weeks ago that my uncle Bill gave me for free.  He rescued it from going to the dump.  Let me tell you, it pays to have family that own the sanitation department in town.  This window was dirty.  I cleaned it up and found that it was in really good condition.  I don't know why anyone would throw this away.

I decided to make a hanging cupboard with it.  I started out with a box shape and put the shelf where it would line up with the muntin bar.  I secured the box together with glue, a few nails to tack it in place and the screws to really secure it together.

Then I sanded it and painted it white.  (Sorry I don't have anymore of the building pictures.  I was getting behind for the craft fair and forgot to take more pictures.)  I cut a piece of luan for the back and painted it a very light blue.

Then I added the window with three hinges.

I also had to paint the window.

Don't mind the paint job on the inside of the window...it wasn't perfect and I didn't mind because if it had been painted a hundred times it wouldn't have been perfect either.  Well, that's my story anyway.

I added a little wooden knob that I painted white.  I thought I was done with it and as it was sitting in my living room, I liked it sitting on the floor so much that I had to readjust the base of it so it sat nice and sturdy.  (Again, sorry no pictures of that part.) 

Now it can either sit or be hung on the wall.

I really like this little cupboard.  I thought it looked so cute in my booth holding the vintage ball jars.  And I'm glad it came home with me.  I can enjoy it for a while longer.....  Thanks for stopping by.

Linking to:
Catch-as-catch-can-73 @ MyRepurposed Life 
All stars monday@ SimplyDoneWright 

Wooden tote...

Hi Everyone!  I hope you are all having a great week.  I was able to spend the evening out in the shop building.  I have several orders I need fill so it was great getting being out there.  I wanted to let you know that Dad's follow-up appointment yesterday went well.  They did the ECHO and an EKG and both came back normal.  The doctors decided to hold off on the Abdominal Aortic Aneurism repair for 6 weeks instead of 4 weeks.  They just want to give Dad plenty of time to heal so he'll be in better shape for the next surgery.

Now onto a project I made for the craft fair.  I started out with a stack of wood that I cut down to the sizes I wanted.  I had double the pieces because I was making two of them.

I forgot to take pictures of the building.  I got into the building groove and forgot to stop and pick up the camera.  Bad blogger!

This is what I ended up with from that stack of wood.

Once I sanded them down I painted a base coat of black and a top coat of white and then sanded it to give it a well used appearance.

And here is one of them at the craft fair.  Neither one of them sold but I can always put them to use.  They are great for holding all sorts of things including paint and tools.  Thanks for stopping by.